City Digital today announced the successful deployment of a new solution that combines sensors and cloud-based analytics to evaluate the performance of sustainable stormwater management techniques. Using data collected from green infrastructure sites in Chicago, the platform helps to reduce urban flooding and prevent millions of dollars in property damage.

City Digital, a Chicago-based UI LABS collaboration, announced it has developed the underlying technology components to create a new underground infrastructure mapping (UIM) platform. The platform will generate, organize, visualize, and store 3D underground infrastructure data, saving cities and utilities millions of dollars in construction and planning processes.

The Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC), Purdue Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Purdue MEP), and the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) were named recipients of a $1.2 million award by the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP).

The Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), a UI LABS collaboration, announced the release of its second 2016 Project Call, which requests proposals for four topics across three DMDII Technology Thrusts: Intelligent Machines (IM), Advanced Manufacturing Enterprise (AME), and Advanced Analysis (AA).

A September 8 Project Call Workshop at the UI LABS Innovation Center will provide additional information and enable team formation.

A new partnership to define and map the roles and skills required by organizations on the forefront of advanced digital manufacturing was announced today between ManpowerGroup (NYSE:MAN) and the Chicago-based Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), a UI LABS Collaboration. The work is part of a broader national initiative overseen by the Department of Defense and other federal agencies to fuel the development of next generation production capabilities and bring jobs back to the United States.

The Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), a UI LABS collaboration, today announced that it has issued seven national applied research, development, and demonstration awards. These projects address several digital manufacturing and design topics, including augmented reality for use on manufacturing shop floors and on wearable and mobile devices.

“We are excited to continue to advance applied R&D within our core technology focus areas,” said Dr. Dean Bartles, Chief Manufacturing Officer of UI LABS and Executive Director of DMDII. “With each project call, we bring additional researchers, global industry leaders, and small companies into our consortium and move closer to making technologies related to ‘smart manufacturing’ and ‘brilliant factory’ applicable to manufacturers across the country.”

UI LABS, a Chicago-based public-private applied research and commercialization collaborative, today announced the expansion of its Board of Directors to include preeminent executives from the corporate, academic, and non-profit sectors.

The Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), a UI LABS collaboration, today announced the release of its first 2016 Project Call addressing two of the three DMDII Technology Thrusts: Advanced Manufacturing Enterprise (AME) and Intelligent Machines (IM).

The Illinois Manufacturing Lab (IML), a partnership between UI LABS and the University of Illinois with support from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), today announced a second round of advanced manufacturing research projects targeted toward small and medium manufacturers (SMMs).

“At UI LABS, we understand how digital technologies are transforming industries like manufacturing,” said Caralynn Nowinski Collens, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of UI LABS. “The Illinois Manufacturing Lab empowers small and medium manufacturers across the state by taking advances in digital manufacturing and getting them into the hands of these business owners.”

The Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), a UI LABS collaboration, today announced that it has issued six national contract research awards, including funding to test and aid compliance with the nation’s cybersecurity standards for digital manufacturing. The projects span several digital manufacturing disciplines, but each reflects the core mission of DMDII: propelling the field of American digital manufacturing and design forward.

Today, the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), a UI LABS collaboration, announced the availability of up to $500,000 in project funding to solicit proposals for the creation of a Digital Manufacturing and Design “Specialization,” a suite of open online, on-demand courses leading to a certificate upon completion. DMDII is issuing a project call for courses that will be offered on Coursera, the largest provider of open online courses with over 16 million registered learners worldwide.

Today, representatives from the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), a UI LABS collaboration, along with Senator Dick Durbin, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) and representatives from the Quad Cities Chamber announced a new chapter in the Quad Cities which will be housed at the Quad Cities Manufacturing Lab.

The Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), a UI LABS collaboration established in 2014, announced today that it has issued its first five national contract research awards. The contracts are valued at more than $7 million, include 14 DMDII partners from across the United States, and will fund research aimed at advancing the field of digital manufacturing and design. Over the next three years, DMDII anticipates having a portfolio of sponsored research projects, spread out over dozens of project call topics and hundreds of institute members.

City Digital, a Chicago-based consortium focused on data-driven urban innovation within the built environment, announced today its first live pilot projects since the consortium began earlier this year. City Digital, a UI LABS collaboration, uses Chicago as a testbed for technology and demonstration, focusing on four critical impact areas: transportation, physical infrastructure, water and sanitation, and energy management.

Two-week “Digital Rebirth” program will focus on the digital economy, sustainability, and the crossroads of digital manufacturing, smart cities, and energy

As part of our mission to retain tech talent in Chicago, we have partnered with the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to co-host the 5th Annual Summer Institute for Sustainability and Energy (SISE), a two-week intensive program held August 6-18, 2015.

The Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), a UI LABS collaboration, today announced the public kickoff of its open source software project, the Digital Manufacturing Commons, DMDII-15-16. The Digital Manufacturing Commons (DMC) is a software platform that can be used to share and access manufacturing data and analysis tools. The project has the potential to generate millions of dollars of savings for small, medium and large manufacturers by democratizing the flow of innovative digital manufacturing data.

UI LABS solves large-scale challenges by bringing University + Industry together with startups and government to accelerate the deployment of emerging technologies through collaboration. UI LABS is developing a portfolio of applied research and commercialization Labs that lead to a return on investment for its partners, improve local, regional and national competitiveness, and transform entire industries. Across its current Labs, UI LABS has over 300 members from industry, academic and research institutions, states and cities, and community organizations.

In February 2014, UI LABS announced the formation of its first Lab, the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), through collaboration with the Department of Defense and a host of other partners, to transform American manufacturing through digitization of the supply chain. Learn more at www.dmdii.org.

UI LABS’ second Lab, City Digital, launched in 2015 to digitize the built environment to transform how citizens live, work, and play in cities today and tomorrow. Learn more at www.citydigital.org.